Germany synagogue shooting: Video emerges of gunman in combat clothing opening fire

One person arrested and manhunt underway as two suspects flee in hijacked car

At least two people have been killed in the German city of Halle, with footage emerging of an alleged perpetrator in combat clothing firing from behind a vehicle.

One suspect has been arrested, police said, but people were warned to “remain vigilant” on Wednesday afternoon. Several hours later, police said there was no longer an “acute” danger to the city and residents could go back into the streets.

Regional public broadcaster MDR showed video of a man in a helmet and olive-coloured top getting out a car and firing four shots along a street from behind a car. It was unclear what the man was shooting at.

Broadcaster Welt also showed a still image of a man in combat gear with a gun.

One victim’s body was in the street outside a synagogue, while another victim was said to have been shot at a nearby Turkish kebab shop.

Two suspects fled in a hijacked car on a motorway leading to Munich, according to the mayor of the town of Landsberg, adjacent to Halle.

Gunfire was also reported in Landsberg, which is around a 20 minute drive from Halle.

A spokeswoman for the Halle municipal government said one shooting took place in front of the synagogue on Humboldt street and its accompanying cemetery, while a second burst of gunfire targeted the kebab shop in the city.

Max Privorozki, Halle’s Jewish community chairman, described how a gunman tried to shoot his way into the city’s synagogue.

“We saw via the camera system at our synagogue that a heavily-armed perpetrator with a steel helmet and a gun tried to shoot open our doors,” he told the Stuttgarter Zeitung newspaper. “The man looked like he was from the special forces... But our doors held.

“We barricaded the doors from inside and waited for the police,” he said, adding that about 70-80 people were inside the Humboldt street synagogue celebrating Yom Kippur.

“That on the Day of Atonement a synagogue was shot at hits us in the heart,” Germany‘s foreign minister, Heiko Maas, tweeted. “We must all act against antisemitism in our country.”

Officers were out in force across Halle, a city of 240,000, hunting for further suspects and urging residents to stay at home or indoors. The city’s train station was closed down as a precaution.

Federal prosecutors, who in Germany handle cases involving suspected terrorism or national security, took over the investigation.

Additional reporting by agencies